Abstract
We design and fabricate elastically tunable monodisperse microcapsules using microfluidics and cross-linkable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The overall stiffness of the microcapsules is governed by both the thickness and cross-link ratio of the polymer shell. Flowing suspensions of microcapsules through constricted spaces leads to transient blockage of fluid flow, thus altering the flow behavior. The ability to tune microcapsule mechanical properties enables the design of elastic microcapsules that can be tailored for desired flow behavior in a broad range of applications such as oil recovery, reactor feeding, red blood cell flow and chemical targeted delivery.
Highlights
A microcapsule with known and tunable mechanical properties can be prepared through the use of highly-controlled synthesis techniques such as droplet microfluidics; these enable control of microcapsule size and membrane thickness through careful manipulation of fluid flow rates
The geometry of the double emulsion glass capillary device is held constant while the fluid flow rates are independently varied and controlled through the use of syringe pumps coupled to the device by tubing
We controllably produced monodisperse microcapsules with tunable overall stiffness determined by two factors: the PDMS cross linking ratio that defines the polymer stiffness and the shell thickness
Summary
A microcapsule with known and tunable mechanical properties can be prepared through the use of highly-controlled synthesis techniques such as droplet microfluidics; these enable control of microcapsule size and membrane thickness through careful manipulation of fluid flow rates. Microfluidics, glass capillary microfluidics, affords the flexibility and choice of materials[5] to impart various mechanical properties An elastomer such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is an ideal shell material because it has high elastic deformation[6,7,8,9]. The effect of particle stiffness on the flow behavior through confined geometries Such a well-characterized and elastically tunable PDMS shelled microcapsule could be used to adjust fluid mobility in complex constricted media. Adjusting the fluid flow rates and the cross-link ratio of the two-component PDMS precursor enables production of PDMS-shelled microparticles with tunable elastic properties. We use single particle compression tests to measure their overall stiffness and flow them through constricted capillaries, thereby evaluating their potential to control fluid mobility through confined geometries
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